A Twin Cities Entrepreneur Takes Over a North Shore Landmark
Superior National at Lutsen, one of Minnesota's most scenic North Shore golf courses, has a new owner. Brady Hatcher, the co-founder and CEO of Brooklyn Park based medical device maker Switchback Medical, bought the 27-hole course for $1.85 million, closing the deal on Friday.
The course sits on the North Shore of Lake Superior, right next to Lutsen Mountains, about 245 miles northeast of the Twin Cities. The original 18-hole layout opened in 1992, with a nine-hole addition in 1999.
Why the Course Was for Sale
Superior National had been operating at a loss. The Cook County and Grand Marais Economic Development Authority listed it for $2.9 million last year after a report found it would need roughly $1.1 million in additional maintenance and capital improvements over five years.
The EDA received three offers and selected Hatcher's $1.85 million bid as the highest. For Hatcher, the purchase is personal. He has said since he was 18 that his dream was to retire early and work at a golf course, and Superior National was his favorite course in the state before he bought his own place in Fifty Lakes.
The Plan to Turn Things Around
Hatcher plans to keep Superior National open to the public, retain the staff, and reinvest in course conditions, marketing, and labor. St. Louis Park based SVN Northco Real Estate Services will manage the property, as it does at Hatcher's Golden Eagle Golf Club in Fifty Lakes.
That track record is worth noting. At Golden Eagle, Northco grew annual rounds from about 14,000 to more than 18,000 and turned a money-losing operation into one with positive cash flow. [INTERNAL LINK: relevant blog post or listings page]
What It Means for Cook County and the North Shore
Beyond the golf, this sale is a small win for a small county. Cook County had been directing local tax revenue toward the course's debt. With the sale proceeds applied to outstanding bonds, that money is now freed up, which the EDA says meaningfully improves the county's cash flow.
For the broader North Shore, a revived Superior National could strengthen the Lutsen area as a year-round destination, pairing summer golf with the winter draw of Lutsen Mountains. If Hatcher and Northco grow rounds the way they did down in Fifty Lakes, the course could become a bigger part of the region's tourism appeal rather than a line item the county worries about.
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